


Serenade on a Mournful Night

by Mauve_Avenger



Series: Out of Yesterday's Ashes [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 20:59:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19117597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauve_Avenger/pseuds/Mauve_Avenger
Summary: The Day of Black Sun approaches. Our heroes prepare for war.





	Serenade on a Mournful Night

Katara stared at her hands. They looked the same as they had the day before, but she knew they weren't the same at all. She felt cursed. Burdened with a power that made her friends look at her like a rogue mooselion was suddenly among them. Was she different?

 

She felt different.

 

She felt the same.

 

She felt the way she did when she first started her monthly cycle two years earlier. She knew something inside her had changed- had set her apart, but she still felt like the same Katara she had been before they ever set foot in that town. Before she had met Hama. She only felt that she had changed when she saw herself reflected in her friends’ eyes.

 

Sokka walked around cautiously, as if she might snap any moment. Aang had the same downward turn to his mouth as when she sank that Fire Nation ship. Toph hadn't changed much, but there was something different in her face when she spoke to Katara. It left Katara feeling isolated from the people closest to her. A feeling made all the worse by the secret knowledge that she had lied to them.

 

After the final battle with Hama, when Katara became a full bloodbender, she promised her friends that she would never use the ability again. But…

 

Oh, there were so many buts.

 

But the invasion was coming up and there would be a full moon. Could she in good conscience ignore such a powerful weapon in her arsenal in the coming battle?

 

But maybe bloodbending could be used for good. Regular waterbending could be used to heal. What could Katara learn about the human body with bloodbending?

 

But why should anyone see bloodbending as inherently evil when no other forms of bending were? She could kill a man just as dead by throwing an icicle through his heart as she could by stopping it from the inside.

 

Katara bit back a groan and turned on to her side. Her friends slept around their campfire while she wrestled with herself. Part of her hated Hama for everything the old woman had done. It wasn't just that Katara thought she was wrong for imprisoning all of those people, but because by doing what she did, Hama had corrupted a whole new form of waterbending before anyone else could explore it in its entirety. Now Katara was left to deal with the consequences of the knowledge, and she had no idea where to begin sorting the mess.

 

Part of Katara pitied the old woman. For all the trauma Katara had gone through in her short life, she had at least had Sokka and Gran-Gran. Her father, too before the war had forced him from home. Hama had had no one. It was no wonder that she was bitter against anyone Fire Nation. And hadn't Katara herself once thought that _every_ Fire Nation citizen were as monstrous as their leader? A few months ago, she would have thought Hama had a good point. And now she was back in the very same place that had taught her so much hate.

 

A log on the fire snapped loudly and startled Sokka awake. He blinked blearily around the camp, checking on his companions when his eyes met his sister's.

 

“What are you doing awake?” He asked. Katara shrugged beneath her sleeping bag.

 

“Thinking.”

 

“'Bout what?” Sokka pushed himself on to a forearm and rubbed his eye with the other hand.

 

“Everything,” Katara sighed. She rolled into her back and stared up at the treetops. From the other side of the fire she heard Sokka snort.

 

“Way too specific, sis,” he said sarcastically. “You...wanna talk about it?” Katara almost smiled at the hesitation in his voice.

 

“What do you think Dad is doing now?”

 

“Huh?” Sokka was sitting up now. Katara knew he was expecting her to talk about what happened with Hama, but after his initial confusion he shook his head. “Probably on his way to the Fire Nation. It's only two weeks until…”

 

“Do you think we should have stayed with him?” Katara's voice was tight, as if she were fighting strong emotions. Sokka leaned towards her.

 

“Hey, are you-”

 

“I'm just wondering if it was worth splitting up,”Katara cut in. She sat up and stared at her hands as she clenched and unclenched then on the blanket. “Maybe I wouldn't have...Maybe we should have just stayed on the ship. We could have talked Aang into going  back.”

 

“Well, there's no point in going down that road,” Sokka told her with a practicality that always chaffed Katara's unending optimism. “We did what we did, and we can't go back and change our minds.”

 

“Do you think I'm a monster?” Katara asked him quietly. Sokka furrowed his brow and watched her contemplatively. Then with a sigh he got up. Katara turned to Sokka questioningly. He was digging through his rucksack. When he found what he was looking for, he came around the fire to sit beside Katara. He held a waxy paper bag out to her.

 

“Comfort food,” he said. “I got it from Bato before we left.” Katara reached in and pulled out a piece of seal-jerky.

 

“Thanks, Sokka.” She smiled slightly and bit off a chunk of meat. It was salty and smokey and just the right amount of greasy. Sokka pulled out a large chunk and shoved the whole thing in his mouth.

 

“Now,” he said, around his full mouth. “Wha’ maksh you think I think you're a monster?” Katara's mouth twisted distastefully.

 

“Because of...what I can do.” She swallowed hard and held the rest of the jerky loosely in her hand. “Does it make me a monster?” Sokka scowled at his sister and crossed his arms.

 

“Man, you're an idiot sometimes,” he grumbled. Katara looked at him sharply.

 

“ _Excuse_ you?”

 

“You can be real dumb sometimes,” Sokka repeated. “I'm the only non-bender on the team and even _I_ know that your powers don't make you good or evil. Look at me. I trained under a sword master- a _Fire Nation_ sword master, and now I could gut a man with two moves-” Katara snorted “-Do you think _I'm_ a monster?”

 

“Of course not,” Katara said. “But it's different. What I can do now, it's from the inside of a person. There's no defense against it.” Sokka shrugged.

 

“Alright,” he conceded. “So you are now the most powerful person in a battle. At least during a full moon. So what? That's _awesome_ . I wish I had an indefensible move. And, look, it's not like other forms of bending aren't hard to defend against. Have you seen what Toph can do? _She's_ not evil. She's _mean_ , but she's not evil. And remember we thought all _firebenders_ were evil, but the we met Chey and Jeong Jeong.  Even Zuko and that old dude he travels with turned out to be alright guys in the end.

 

“Then _why_ have you been so weird around me the last few days?” Katara demanded. She turned to her brother, annoyed to feel the sting of tears in her eyes. “You keep moving around me like I'm going to explode or something.”

 

“Because _you've_ been weird!” Sokka told her. “Ever since we left that town, you seem like you're constantly on the verge of tears.” Sokka pointed at her face accusingly. “Like that! You see? How am I _supposed_ to act around you? I _hate_ it when you get all weepy.”

 

Katara glared at her brother for a minute before she dissolved into helpless giggles. She bit down on her fists to smother the noise, and cast a worried glance at Toph and Aang. Sokka watched her, nonplussed until she got a hold of herself. Katara couldn't help but laugh. She felt so relieved.

 

“I thought you all hated me,” she confessed.

 

“Don't be stupid,” Sokka scoffed. “No one hates you.” Katara looked over at Aang dubiously. Sokka followed her gaze and shrugged. “Aang is young, and there's a lot about this world he just doesn't get. He'll be over this in a couple of days.”

 

“What if,” Katara stared into the fire and bit her lip. “What if I _did_ use bloodbending?” Sokka stared at Katara for a moment before he replied.

 

“He'll have to get over that, too,” he said. Then he shrugged. “Or maybe he won't. But that's _his_ problem, not yours. Hey, _I've_ always got your back. And if it helps, Toph thinks it's cool. She just hates the way you learned it, so she hasn't said anything to you.” Katara smiled at him. Her eyes were tearing again, but her load had been lightened.

 

“Thanks, Sokka. You know, you're better at this comforting thing than you realize.” Sokka grinned and nodded sharply once.

 

“I am, aren't I?” His grin disappeared a moment later and he looked at Katara seriously. “I have one thing to ask you, though.”

 

“Um…” Katara's stomach flipped nervously. “Okay. What?” Sokka pointed to her hands.

 

“Are you going to finish that jerky?” Katara rolled her eyes and shoved her brother. Then she took a bite of her jerky.

 

“ _Good night_ , Sokka.”

 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Zuko finally officially met Pakku on Choi. He recognized him vaguely from the siege on the Northern Tribe. The stern look on the old man's face told Zuko that his memory of that day was much clearer.

 

“Pakku!” Iroh embraced him warmly. “My old friend. I understand congratulations are in order.” Hakoda came up and smiled tightly.

 

“Master Pakku,” was his terse greeting. Iroh and Hakoda had received a letter from the waterbending master that included, amongst the news of the progress  that had been made in gathering troops for the invasion, included news that Master Pakku had married Hakoda's mother-in-law. At the time of the crew reaching Choi, he was still processing the announcement, but as he had told Zuko during one of their frequent chats, as long as Kanna was happy, he was happy.

 

“Still,” he had said with some consternation, “I was under the impression he was part of the reason she had left the Northern Tribe.” Zuko hadn't known what to say to that, so he mumbled something vaguely encouraging.

 

Pakku wasn't alone. Standing beside were two grinning men clothed only in green loincloths. They stepped forward to be introduced to the next arrivals. Due, the younger, taller, and slimmer of the two laughed boisterously when they were told who Hakoda was.

 

“Cousin!” Due cried, pulling Hakoda into a bone crushing hug. “We met your little critters a few months ago. Pak-man over here has been telling us that cousin Katara trained with him. She wasn’t with us long enough to learn a little about swamp style waterbending though.” Hakoda shot a bewildered glance at Bato and Iroh.

 

“Er...yes,” Hakoda said. “I’m...I’m very proud of... _ahen_ ...my _critters_.”  

 

Pakku and the rest of the White Lotus had been busy, it seemed. Along with the Foggy Swamp warriors, they had managed to get on their side several earthbenders- one an intimidating mountain of a man who called himself the Boulder-, an inventor from the Earth Kingdom, and a few defected soldiers from the Fire Nation. One, who had been introduced as Jeong Jeong bowed to Hakoda, then to Bato respectfully.

 

“I’m afraid I don’t know how much use my team and I will be without our bending,” he said. “But we are happy to help anyway we can.”

 

“Your presence is much appreciated, Jeong Jeong,” Iroh said with a warm smile. It was not returned.

 

“As is yours, General.” Jeong Jeong’s tone was icy, but he managed a stiff bow at Iroh. “At last. Though, I suppose timing isn’t _everything_.” The incomprehensible barb seemed to have landed. Jeong Jeong managed to make Iroh’s smile slip just a bit. Zuko looked between them in confusion, but he didn’t have time to speak up. Jeong Jeong turned and went back to his soldiers. Zuko looked at Iroh, uncertain if he should be offended on his uncle’s behalf.

 

“Uncle, what-”

 

“Perhaps we should find a spot to claim for ourselves,” Iroh suggested. He smiled at Zuko, but there was a tightness around his eyes that told Zuko that he wasn’t in the mood for conversation. Zuko hesitated, but conceded with a huff.

 

"Great," he muttered. "More secrets." He turned to go help Hakoda's men unload their supplies, when Iroh caught his sleeve. The aged man suddenly looked all of his 58 years.

 

"Please be patient with me, Nephew," he implored Zuko. "I will explain once we have a moment to ourselves."

 

“Fine,” Zuko said before he went to his tasks.

 

“Hey! I remember you!” Zuko turned to see Smellerbee and Longshot,  Jet’s friends from Ba Sing Se, running up to him.

 

“Oh!” he said in surprise. “Hi.” Smellerbee smirked at him.

 

“Li, right?” she asked. Zuko flushed and shook his head.

 

“No, actually,” he said. There was no point in lying to them. Everyone else knew who he was. “My name is Zuko. Li was a fake name.” Smellerbee and Longshot exchanged a quick glance. Then the looked at Zuko and back at each other.

 

Longshot lifted his brow, and Smellerbee nodded.

 

“I know,” she said. “Who would have thought Jet was actually right about him.” Zuko scratched the back of his neck, unsure of how this was going to end.

 

“Sorry about lying,” he said at last. Smellerbee shrugged.

“You do what you gotta to survive. Anyway, good to see ya again, Li...er Zuko.”

 

“Same,” Zuko mumbled. The pair spotted another group of kids and went over to  join them. Bato came up to Zuko’s side and scanned the group.

 

“They’re kind of young to be here, aren’t they?” Zuko commented. Bato looked at him in surprise.

 

“They’re not _that_ much younger than you are,” he said. Zuko winced and then shrugged. Then Bato pointed to one boy with a moustache. “He’s about your age. Name’s Haru, I think.”

 

“It just feels weird,” Zuko said. “We’re going into battle and they’re _really_ young.” Bato hummed in agreement.

 

“Pakku said he was going to turn them away, but they insisted that this is their fight, too.” Zuko frowned at Bato.

 

“It doesn’t seem right.”

 

“It doesn’t,” Bato agreed with a sad sigh. “But war make soldiers out of the tenderest souls. If Hakoda or your uncle told you to sit this out, would you?”

 

“That’s different.” Zuko crossed his arms tightly, pressing his fists under his arms. “My father is the one doing all of this. If I can stop him, I _have_ to.” Bato nodded.

 

“And _they_ feel the same way,” he said. “We aren’t in a position to turn away help, even if its from children. Pakku says that there are some invaluable skills among them.” Zuko huffed in reply. He hated the war.

 

It took a monumental amount of patience for Zuko not to corner Iroh in the hours between landing and dinner, but he found some distraction in the soldiers who had come with Jeong Jeong. They stared and pointed at him the entire afternoon. More than once, Zuko had turned to find them staring at him with strange looks on their faces. It made him long for a cloak with a good hood. Perhaps, he thought, if his scar was covered up, they wouldn’t feel inclined to stare at the dishonored prince.

 

“Alright, Zuko?” Bato had come up with two tents slung over his shoulder, and was frowning over at the Fire Nation soldiers reproachfully. Zuko nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.

 

“I’m fine, Bato,” he said. Bato grunted.

 

“Well, if anyone gives you trouble,” he said. “Let us know. We’re all on the same side here, but I’m more than willing to knock some sense into those gawpers if you need me to.” Zuko almost smiled at the offer.

 

“Thanks.” Zuko took one of the tents from him and carried it over to the area set aside for sleeping. The soldiers were still staring at him strangely, but it bothered Zuko less. Whatever Jeong Jeong and his men thought of him, at least Zuko knew he had the Water Tribe warriors on his side. He didn’t feel so isolated.

 

Honestly, Zuko wasn’t going to let the soldiers bother him. Once the Water Tribe warriors had set up their tents and settled into the camp, it was time for dinner. Pakku and Jeong Jeong had pulled Iroh to the side, and even at a distance, Zuko could sense the tension between the two Fire Nation men. Zuko stuck close to Hakoda, Bato and the others, and the Swamp Benders and the Mechanist’s people had been welcoming enough, still he could feel the Fire Nation soldiers surreptitiously watching him through his meal. He wasn’t the only one.

 

“Is it not rude to stare at people in the Fire Nation?" Hakoda asked him quietly. Zuko shrugged. It was actually quite rude, especially during a meal, but Zuko didn’t want to cause a scene.

 

“Maybe I have something on my face,” he tried to joke. Hakoda looked at him with a frown and repeated what Bato had said earlier.

 

“Just let us know if they give you any problems.” Right around the time that Zuko was contemplating the strangeness of needing defending against his own people by the Water Tribe, one of the Jeong Jeong’s soldiers approached. Zuko tensed up, but the man didn’t appear hostile. On the contrary, he seemed  deferential. He bobbed a quick bow at Hakoda and Bato before he dropped to one knee in front of Zuko.

 

“Wha…” the young prince gasped.

 

“Your highness, I am Hiru,” he told Zuko. “I...well, we...all of us here were part of the troop at Huai.” Zuko froze. That was the troop that Ozai’s general wanted to sacrifice three years earlier. He had never found out what happened to them. Had never thought to ask.

 

“I...I’m sorry,” he said, bowing his head. Hiru's  eyes widened and he shook his head.

 

“No, no!” he insisted. “You have nothing to apologize for. You spoke up for us. You saved our lives. We owe you a debt, sire. All of us have committed to fighting with General Jeong Jeong to end this war, but it will be a privilege to restore you to the throne.”

 

“ _What_?” Zuko yelped. “But…” The other soldiers had gathered around the fire, and the whole camp had stopped to watch what was happening. The rest of Jeong Jeong’s men knelt like Hiru had- on one knee, hand over heart, and heads bowed. They were swearing loyalty to Zuko. He looked around wildly for Iroh, but Hakoda put a hand on his shoulder and motioned for him to calm down. Zuko swallowed hard and turned back to Hiru.

 

“I...I don’t know if I deserve your loyalty,” he said at last. “But I will try my hardest to be worthy of it.” Hiru and the  other men around him looked up and now Zuko could see admiration in their faces. It made him want to hide, but he thought that would disgrace the soldiers, so he bade them to stand up, and thanking them, dismissed them to their meal.

 

“Spoken like a true king,” Hakoda whispered. Zuko's shoulders hunched up around his ears, and sweat broke out around his hairline. He mumbled something non-committal to Hakoda, then almost buried his face in his bowl..

 

Not soon enough for Zuko, the camp began to settle down for the evening. Zuko and Iroh were sharing a tent, and Iroh was already there, waiting with a freshly brewed pot of tea when Zuko pulled up the flap. There was no Pai Sho board, Zuko noted with relief. He settled down on his cot across from his uncle and waited for the old man to pour them both a cup.

 

“It seems you’ve had quite a day, Prince Zuko.” Iroh broke the silence first and took a sip of the ginseng and ginger brew. Zuko shrugged uncomfortably.

  
“It was...weird,” he admitted. “I thought everyone from home hated me.” Iroh smiled sadly and shook his head.

 

“All of the Fire Nation is not represented by it’s nobility,” he told Zuko. “I think you’ll find that support for you is farther spread than you think.” Zuko looked up at his uncle, a crease between his brows.

 

“They...they think I’m going to be Fire Lord after this,” he said, the realization hitting him like a physical blow for the first time. Iroh raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“And you hadn’t expected that?” he asked. “Why not?”

 

“Well, I thought...you’d…”Zuko stammered. “I mean...dad...Ozai took the throne from you. It was yours by right.” Iroh pursed his lips and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

 

“I suppose I can see where you would have gotten that idea,” he said. “But I have no heirs beside you. Surely you must have know that, assuming our success, the throne would be yours eventually.” Zuko threw his free hand out to the side and huffed and then ran his hand through his hair. His other hand was hardly much more still. Iroh watched the tea in his cup slosh out with a bit of disappointment. He was particularly proud of this batch of tea.

 

“I don’t know,” Zuko cried. “I mean sure, I guess I knew it was possible, if you didn’t marry and have more kids that I could end up being Fire Lord, but…” Zuko motioned wildly towards the flap of the tent, towards the rest of the camp. “ _They_ seem to think...Do they want me on the throne _now?_ ”

 

“Perhaps,” Iroh said. Zuko stared at his uncle. _How_ , he wondered, could Iroh be so nonchalant about staging a coup and putting him- _Zuko,_ the least qualified of all the royal family- on the throne of the whole Fire Nation?

 

“It’s kind of sudden, don’t you think?” Zuko asked. “It should be _you_.” Iroh shook his head.

 

“You’re wrong, my nephew.” Iroh sighed sadly and set his cup to the side. “I’m afraid I’m not fit to rule the Fire Nation.” Zuko just gaped at him. Not _fit_? Iroh was the wisest man Zuko knew.

 

“What do you mean?” he demanded. “How could you not be fit? _You’re_ the rightful heir. You’re the Dragon of the West, for crying out loud. _Why not?_ ” Iroh had begun shaking his head.

 

“Please, Prince Zuko,” he chided. “Keep your voice down. These walls are only canvas. They can give us but so much privacy.” His face had drawn into a deep troubled frown. Zuko had never seen an expression like that on his uncle. “I have somethings to tell you, and I’m going to ask you not to interrupt until I get to the end.”

 

“But I-” Zuko stopped himself mid-protest. He folded his arms and nodded. “Fine. No interruptions.” Iroh looked satisfied, but still uncomfortable and...ashamed?

 

“I have done many things in my life that I’m not proud of looking back,” he began. “Most of my life was devoted to the cause of my father, and his father before him. And I was honored to do it. The Dragon of the West, they called me then. I earned that title on the backs and bodies of so many. Not just Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom, but Fire Nation, as well. But back then, I thought it was a noble cause. Until Ba Sing Se…”

 

“Lu Ten?” Zuko whispered. Then his face flushed. “Sorry. Please go on.” Iroh sighed sadly and nodded.

 

“The death of my son affected me deeper than I thought was possible. It wasn’t just that I had lost my son and heir, I lost my reason for fighting this war. His death was so senseless. Did I ever tell you what happened?” Zuko shook his head. His chest was tight, but he didn’t think he was going to cry. Lu Ten was the one loss Zuko had been able to mourn properly, and he hadn’t shed tears over his cousin in years.

 

“It wasn’t in battle,” Iroh told him. “I know that’s the story everyone tells back home, but Lu Ten was taking a walk along the wall during a ceasefire. He wanted to see the glory of the city for himself, he had told me. He wanted to remind himself of the goal. Well, there was great unrest in Ba Sing Se. The people we were there to conquer didn’t love the idea of bowing to our rule so easily. Besides the Dai Li and the king’s army, there were many citizens who wanted to see us defeated. I don’t think either Lu Ten or I understood how deep the animosity went. While he was walking, there was a group of resistance fighters- young, wholey untrained, and most not even earthbenders- saw him walking along the wall in his military uniform. I think that’s all they saw. I don’t think they knew who he was. Lu Ten had chosen not to wear armor that day, and when the resistance fighters saw their opening, they took it. They leapt up on the wall before anyone could stop him and fell on Lu Ten. One of them was armed with a knife and…” Iroh choked back a sob, and Zuko could feel the tears stinging his eyes, too. There was no anger in either of them. They had lived among the Earth Kingdom citizens and knew the type of desperation that had led to Lu Ten’s killing.

 

"After that... I suppose I lost my appetite for battle." Zuko knew. Iroh had all but disappeared during the years between Lu Ten's death and the year Zuko turned 13. Iroh had always been tight lipped about that time, and he didn't clarify now.

 

"Did you ever wonder, my nephew, why I didn't come home when I heard about my brother trying to turn my father against me?" he asked. Zuko furrowed his brows in thought. He had been so young then.  

 

"All I know is that I missed you," Zuko admitted. "There was a lot of court gossip going around about you then, but I didn't really pay attention." Iroh smiled fondly at Zuko, but there was sadness behind his eyes.

 

"I was lost for so long," Iroh sighed. "And in trying to rediscover myself, I abandoned everyone who needed me most. If I had come back sooner, perhaps I could have stopped Ozai." Iroh's eyes lingered on Zuko's face, and he blinked hard against more tears springing in his eyes. Zuko felt the skin around his scar began to itch.

 

"But that's the past," he said. "You'd be a great Fire Lord, _now."_ Iroh shook his head.

 

"I've hurt far too many people with my inaction. I can't expect them to set that aside and be led by me." Zuko's eyes widened, and then narrowed.

 

"Does this have anything to do with Jeong Jeong's reaction earlier?"

 

"I'm afraid so." Iroh poured himself another cup of tea mostly out of habit and something to do with his hands than a desire for more tea. "You see, after your Agni Kai, I sent word to Jeong Jeong about the plan. He was able to save his troop, but they weren't the only one that was to be sacrificed. He believes that had I done what I ought to have done sooner, I could have prevented much of what Ozai did." Zuko's face contorted into a frown.

 

"Why didn't you?" He asked, new understanding dawning on him. "You went with me to find the Avatar, but you weren't ever going to let me capture him. Why didn't you stay and take back the throne?" Iroh flinched self consciously.

 

"I told myself it was because you needed me," he admitted. "And you did, but... I couldn't face it. Being the Fire Lord is a burden I'm not ...capable of bearing." Zuko leapt to his feet and paced the small tent.

 

"And you think _I'm_ ready for that burden?"he demanded. "Uncle, if _you_ can't do it, what makes you think I can?"

 

"I am not worthy!" Iroh told him. "I have too much responsibility for what has happened to the world. I have too much of the blood of the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes on my hands. I _cannot_ be the one to lead the way forward. But _you_ can. Zuko, you are in a position I am not." Zuko looked around the tent, feeling trapped and wounded. His breath came out in short gasps. He didn't think he could feel worse if Iroh had physically hit him.

 

"You're scared," Zuko realized. Iroh lowered his eyes and nodded.

 

"I am," he confessed. "But that's not what makes unworthy of the throne." Zuko swallowed hard, and down at his sides, his fists clenched around the fabric his pants in a vice grip.

 

"What if I refuse?" He almost hissed. It wasn't fair, he thought. The weight of the war had been his since he was too young to understand the implications, but there was an end in sight and all that was keeping him moving forward was the thought that soon he would be able to leave the reparations to the people who it belonged to; the old and wise. At least the beginning of the work should belong to them, he thought. But now his uncle was pushing another weight at him, this time in the form of a crown. It would have been an honor once, but now it felt like a curse. One more burden for his already weary back.

 

"Uncle, I'm too young," he pleaded. Iroh had tears in his eyes, and for the first time Zuko realized he was crying, too

 

"I will not leave you to do it alone," Iroh promised. "I will be there as long as you need me. But it _has_ to be you." The words rang hollow in Zuko's ears. Suddenly the air in the tent was stifling. Without another word, or backwards glance, Zuko left the tent. Iroh wasn't surprised an hour later when Bato poked his head in the tent, eyes full of sympathy and apology.

 

"Zuko and I switched tents," he explained. "He's going to bunk with Hakoda tonight." Iroh welcomed him and offered a cup of tea, but he didn't bring up his talk with Zuko, and he was thankful that Bato didn't either.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

 

Hanakone was a small fishing village on the northern coast of the Fire Nation, about a day’s journey from Caldera, the capitol. Calling it a village was actually very generous. It was more a collection of about ten families who made their hard scrabble living by what they could gather from the ocean, or grow in the rocky soil. It was so unobtrusive and out of the way that no one had notice that they hadn’t sent men for the army in nearly fifty years. That Sokka and Bato had managed to find it at all was pure luck. That Sokka and the others had managed to find a reasonably secluded cove while they waited for Hakoda and the rest of the invasion force was even more fortunate.

 

“It’s big enough to hide five ships,” Sokka guessed gazing out over the water. He held his arm out to the side so Hawky, the messenger hawk he had acquired a few weeks earlier, could perch.

 

“If they can find it,” Katara muttered. Sokka nodded solemnly and turned to the hawk.

 

“Now, Hawky,” he said. “I know I’ve called you lazy in the past, but this is your chance to really step up. I’m trusting you with this, okay?” He held up a bedraggled sheet of paper, on which he had painted the call sign for Hakoda’s ship so Hawky could study it. “You’re taking my message to _this_ ship. It’s really important, you understand?”

 

Hawky let out a piercing shriek and Sokka praised his intelligence. Katara rolled her eyes.

 

“You don’t _really_ think he’ll find Dad, do you?” she asked. “Even if he _were_ trained, hawks can’t fly that far out to see.”

 

“Would you knock off the pessimism already?” Sokka scowled at her. “That’s _my_ bit. What Hawky and I need now is your support and cooperation, not your sarcasm and mockery.” Katara rolled her eyes once again and turned away.

 

“Whatever,” she muttered as she walked over to Appa. “Let me know when it’s time to mock. I’m ready to mock.”

 

While Sokka busied himself with his final instructions to Hawky, the others set up camp. Toph had set up two earthen tents for them and was in the middle of preparing a fire pit. Katara came up to where Aang was laying out his sleeping bag in one of the temporary shelters. She was glad to see that the dark circles that had been under his eyes for the better part of a week were finally fading.

 

“Hey,” she said. “How are you feeling?” Aang smiled at her weakly.

 

“Great,’ he tried to sound chipper, “I’m sleeping through the night now anyway.” Katara smiled back at him.

 

“Glad to hear.” She went to grab her own things from the saddle when she heard Aang scramble to his feet behind her.

 

“Hey, Katara?” She stopped and looked back at him. Aang’s cheeks had turned a light pink and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he took a deep breath. “Do you think-”

“Yo, Twinkletoes!” Toph clambered over, dusting her palms off with a wicked grin. “It’s five days until the big showdown. You ready to unleash a jar Avatar State beatdown on Fire Lord Psycho?”

 

“Oh!” Aang shifted on his feet and his face turned a deeper red. “I don’t know about that...I...I can’t enter the Avatar State. Um...Azula’s lighting blocked my chakra.” He turned his gaze down to his feet and waited for his friends to say something.

 

“You what?” Toph’s jaw fell open.

 

“Hawky’s all set.” Sokka walked up with a smug smile. “I’m sure he’ll find Dad and the others. We’ll meet up here and launch for the capitol in..” Sokka noticed the silence and the way Katara and Toph were staring at Aang. His brow furrowed in concern. “What’s happening?”

 

“Aang has _just_ announced that he can’t go into the Avatar State,” Toph told him, folding her arms angrily.

 

“ _What_?” Sokka yelped. “Aang, how long have you known?” Aang cringed, and his hands balled into fists at his side. He shrugged.

 

“A...a while,” he confessed. “I’m sorry.”

 

“ _Sorry?_ Why didn’t you say anything sooner? All that time we were on the ship and making plans, it never occured to you to say anything?” Sokka huffed through his nose and seemed to be gearing up for a long rant.

 

“Well…”Katara cut in, trying to placate her brother. “Well, Ozai won’t have his bending. I’m sure Aang won’t need the Avatar State for this.”

 

“ _Now_  you want to be optimistic again?” Sokka shouted. Katara fixed him with an unimpressed glare.

 

“You’re right, Sokka,” she retorted. “We should _all_ have a panic attack and yell about things we have no power over. This doesn’t change anything important about the plan. Aang can face Ozai without the Avatar State. You’ll just have to make sure you end it before the eclipse is over. You can handle that, right Aang?” Katara rubbed Aang’s shoulder.

 

“Uh...sure,” he mumbled. Katara’s face drew in to a sympathetic frown.

 

“Is that what you were trying to tell me before?” she asked. Aang blanched, but nodded mutely. Katara sighed. “Alright. Well, worrying about it won’t fix anything. You guys finish setting up the camp. I’ll get started on dinner.”

 

Aang worked in silence, stealing glances across the small camp. His friends hadn’t said anything after the tense confrontation, and Aang couldn’t blame them. He had wanted to tell them about the Avatar State many times since he had woken up, but he didn’t know how to without telling them the truth.

 

He shook his head to chase that thought away. He didn’t know it was a lie. After all, he had gone into the Avatar State before Azula had shot him. He didn’t know that it wasn’t _her_ fault he couldn’t go into the Avatar State. Still…

 

His eyes drifted back over to the fire pit. Katara was cutting vegetables to put in the evening’s stew. He couldn’t tell anyone else why he couldn’t go into the Avatar State before he told her. _She_ would understand. And she would help him explain to the others. After all, balance of the world aside, it was terribly romantic to give up your powers for someone you love. Katara glanced up and smiled quickly at Aang before turning back to her task. His heart picked up in his chest and he turned his gaze to his hands folded in his lap.

 

The past week had been full of nightmares. Aang hadn’t been able to get more than a few hours of rest until a couple of nights ago when Katara and their friends surprised Aang with the most comfortable makeshift bed he had slept on in ages. But there had been sweet dreams amongst the frantic, anxious images in his mind. He had dreamt of gathering the courage to tell Katara how he felt; of a future life together where they brought back the Air Nomads, one happy, squishy baby at a time. It had felt so right, and it had almost given him the courage to open up to her. If only Toph hadn’t jumped in. Now the moment was gone, and he’d have to find another opening. But he would. He knew he would. Then he would defeat the Fire Lord, bring balance to the world, and live happily ever after with Katara adoringly at his side. Despite everything, Aang found a smile at that thought.

 

‘Dinner’s ready,” Katara called to her friends. Aang scrambled over to her and claimed his seat next to her. He could get used to this, he decided as she handed him his bowl.  

 

"We should probably strategize," Sokka said. He settled on Katara's other side. He took an enthusiastic slurp of his dinner.

 

"Don't you want to wait for Dad and the others?" Katara asked. "Also, didn't we already plan a strategy for the invasion?"

 

"That was _before_ we found out about... Aang's little problem." Sokka spoke out of the side of his mouth, as if he were trying to keep a secret from someone.

 

"Aw, come on, Sokka," Toph groaned. "What changes? Ozai will be completely powerless. Aang still has water, air and earth. Honestly, Aang, take your pick. Run him through with an icicle; crush him with a rock; heck, suffocate him if you want. Get creative." Aang's jaw had dropped in horror, and his face had gone increasingly paler with every suggestion.

 

" _Toph!"_ He yelped. "That's awful! Are you nuts? I'm not doing any of that!"

 

The silence that descended on the camp was even more loaded than the one that followed his confession about the Avatar State. Katara exchanged glances with Sokka and Toph, finally settling back on Aang.

 

"Aang," she said hesitantly. "You _know_ that killing Ozai was the point of the invasion." Aang shook his head.

 

"The plan was to go in and beat him," he told them. "No one said anything about _killing_ him."

 

"You needed that spelled out for you?" Toph asked incredulously. "Of _course_ we want to kill him." Aang leapt to his feet. His forgotten bowl of stew flew off of his lap, spilling the thin broth and vegetables on the ground.

 

"No!" He shouted. "If I kill Ozai- if I kill him while he can't defend himself, I'll be no better than he is!"

 

"It's not the same thing!" Sokka insisted. "Ozai needs to be taken out because he's a monster!"

 

"He's a human being!" Aang countered.

 

"Just barely!" Now Sokka got to his feet. Katara sat between the two and tugged on their shirts to get them to sit down. Neither paid attention to her.

 

"I was taught that _all_ life is sacred." Aang had drawn himself to his full height amd met Sokka's ranting with righteous indignation. "The monks said that-"

 

"Oh, here he goes with the monks," Sokka groaned throwing his hands out. "There is proof that your precious monks weren't against fighting back. And _maybe_ if they got onboard with fighting back a little sooner, they wouldn't all be dead now."

 

" _Sokka!_ " Katara gasped. Aang chest was heaving with anger, and his fists shook at his sides. Suddenly, he let out a high pitched shriek and three himself on Sokka. Now his fists flew wildly, landing blows wherever they could.

 

"Woah! Twinkle Toes!" Toph's mouth dropped open in shock. Sokka mostly blocked the attack, but he occasionally threw much more precise punches at the younger boy.

 

" _Stop fighting!_ " Katara shouted. Still she was ignored. She looked across the fire in exasperation. Toph seemed to find the situation hilarious. She was almost doubled over in laughter while the fight went on. Katara scowled at her and attempted once more to break up the brawl.

 

" _Ah_!" Sokka cried. His hands flew up to his face, but already there was blood seeping through his fingers. Katara caught the back of Aang's shirt and dragged him back away from her brother.

 

"That's _enough_!" she told him. Aang saw the blood dripping down Sokka's arm, and the fight drained out of him.

 

"Sokka, I'm... I'm so-" Aang tried to move toward him, but Sokka put his hand up, and Katara held him back.

 

"Forgedd it," Sokka said. His voice sounded weirdly nasal, as if he had a cold. "Just make sure you have the same energy when you face Ozai and _maybe_ we'll actually have a shot at ending this war for good." He spun on his heel and stormed away from the campsite. Katara let go of Aang and followed Sokka into the woods.

 

"Wait, Katara," Aang called after her. She glanced over her shoulder with an odd, pinched expression on her face.

 

"I have to make sure his nose isn't broken," she said. "Just stay here, alright? Sokka! Hold up!" Aang stared helplessly after her, but he did as she told him, and sat down.

 

"I really didn't think you had that in you," Toph said, slurping her dinner. Aang suddenly remembered his own upset dinner and glanced down at the soggy vegetables on the ground. He had barely taken more than a few mouthfuls before the fight, but he wasn't hungry anymore. He kicked at a bit of carrot until it was coated in dirt.

 

"Do you all _really_ expect me to kill the Fire Lord?" he asked Toph. She snorted derisively and turned her unnervingly sharp blank eyes on him.

 

"What in the world did you think we've been training you for?" she snapped. "Aang, you do realize we're in the middle of a war, right? Geeze, I thought you understood after what happened when that Fire Nation ship tried to attack us." Aang flinched away from that thought.

 

"Just because I forgave Katara ...and you, it doesn't mean I think it was the right thing to do," Aang told her. To his surprise, Toph laughed. She didn't sound amused, though.

 

"You _forgave_ us?" she scoffed. "That's rich. Thank you, oh so much for your magnanimity, oh wise Avatar." Aang could feel his anger pricking again. He took a deep calming breath, just like Gyatso taught him, and released his anger.

 

"Violence is never the answer," he told Toph. She just rolled her eyes.

 

"So tell me, Aang." Her tone was mocking and tinged with not a little bit of irritation. "What _other_ plans have you been coming up with?"

 

"Huh?" Aang rocked back on his seat.

 

"What's your non-lethal plan to take down the Fire Lord?" Aang's  mouth opened and shut a few times.

 

"Well...well, I…"

 

"That's what I thought," Toph snorted. "You know, if you're going to shoot down every plan for the invasion because you don't want to get those precious little hands dirty, the least you can do is give us a back up plan."

 

Katara and Sokka arrived back just then. The blood was gone from Sokka's face and clothes, but he still regarded Aang with a scowl.

 

"Sokka," Aang said, jumping up. "I'm so sorry. I-"

 

"Hey, Toph." Sokka turned his back to Aang and spoke loudly over him. "Do you think you could make me my own tent for the night?"

 

"Sure, Snoozles." Toph climbed to her feet, and stomped on the ground. Another earthen tent sprang up across from the one that Aang would now be sleeping in alone. Aang's body slumped forward dejectedly. Katara pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

"Sokka, is this really-"

 

" _Yes_ this is really!" Sokka snapped. He went and gathered his things from Aang's tent and dumped them unceremoniously in his."I'm going to bed."

 

Katara looked helplessly from Sokka to Toph, but the younger girl wasn't in the mood to buck up Aang. She set her bowl down and went to get ready for sleep, too.

 

"I already said everything I want to," she told Katara. "Good night, Sugar Queen." Katara glared at her for a moment, then turned her attention back to Aang.

 

He was crying quietly. His shoulders shook with his pent up sobs. Katara reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. Aang took a shuddering breath and threw himself into her arms and cried on her shoulder.

 

"Alright," she said soothingly, rubbing his back. "It's alright." They stood there until Aang was able to get himself together long enough for Katara to gather the dishes. She motioned for Aang to follow her.

 

"Come help me with these," she said. Aang trailed her to a small creek and found a smooth flat stone to sit on. Katara set the dishes down and bent some water into the pot first.

 

"I didn't mean to hurt Sokka," Aang said. He pulled up a small ball of water and tried to make it into different shapes. Katara looked archly over her shoulder at him.

 

"That was _some_ punch for not meaning it."

 

"Well... I mean…" Aang's face flushed slightly. "I guess I _did_ mean to hit him, but I didn't want to _hurt_ him." Katara huffed and paused from scrubbing at a particularly stubborn patch of stuck on food to turn to her friend.

 

"Aang, you _did_ mean to hurt him," she said point blank. "You wanted to hurt him because he hurt your feelings. I get that. _He_ gets that. What I _don't_ get is why you never told us about your feelings about killing Ozai."  Aang shifted uncomfortably.

 

"I thought you knew," he admitted. "I thought you understood that I couldn't kill him. For crying out loud, Katara! I'm a vegetarian! I don't understand how you can all be so… _blah_ about killing a man!" Katara let her breath out of her nose.

 

"We're at war, Aang," she reminded him. "We've been at war for a long time. You're the Avatar. You _have_ to know that balance is going to come at a cost. And if that cost is the Fire Lord's life, I don't think there's anyone in the world who wouldn't think it's a fair price." Aang dropped the water he had been playing with and drew his knees up to his chest.

 

"There _has_ to be another way," he whimpered. Katara stood up and Aang had to fight the urge to turn away. She was all hard, sharpened resolve in the light of the waxing moon.

 

"Maybe there is," she said. That caught Aang's attention. He lifted his head from his knees.

 

"What is it?" Hopeful eagerness gleamed in his eyes.

 

"Someone else can kill him." Katara's words  hung in the air between them like a chilling mist. "If you can't do it, then one of us will."

 

"Katara, you don't mean that," Aang gasped.

 

"I do," Katara said solemnly. "I'll talk to Sokka and my dad. We'll figure it out." Katara's eyes softened as she looked Aang over. He really was a child. He was more a child than any of them, and it occurred to Katara that it wasn't fair that so much of a burden was his before he was ready. There would be plenty to for the Avatar to do to bring balance to the world. Maybe his duty didn't need to begin with this act.

 

Aang stared at Katara with wide eyes. She had to be joking or bluffing, but she looked deadly serious. Aang pulled at his bottom lip with his teeth. There must have been another way to end the war. If only he had more time. If only he had done as Toph suggested and thought of something else sooner. Now there were only five more days until the eclipse.

 

Katara went back to cleaning the dishes while Aang thought. As she rinsed the bowls, Aang's face set into a mask of determination. He _would_ find a better solution. He had to.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The voyage to the rendezvous point was marked with a tense sort of half silence between Zuko and Iroh. some if the swamp benders were sailing with them, so uncle and nephew were sharing a cabin on the ship, but aside from idle small talk- mostly from Iroh- there was little said during the nearly two week journey. Iroh decided to let Zuko have his space. At least this time Zuko didn't have to process his feelings alone. He spent much of the time he wasn't in his and Iroh's room among the Water Tribe warriors, and with Hakoda and Bato in particular. One day, Hakoda invited Iroh to his cabin for tea.

 

"I know how it can be," he told the general as Iroh poured them each a cup of his jasmine blend. "But one thing I've learned from being a father is that no parent is perfect. Our kids may get angry or hurt by some of the things we do, but eventually our love for them can smooth over a multitude of sins."

 

"I'm afraid there may be too many to be smoothed," Iroh confessed with a sigh.

 

"I don't believe that." Hakoda stared into his tea cup thoughtfully. "Zuko loves you, and you are still the closest thing to a father he has. That bond doesn't just disappear overnight. Give him his time and space, and eventually he'll realize that, too. I'm speaking from experience." Iroh smiled sadly and nodded.

 

"I suppose that's all I can do. I have placed too much on my nephew through my own mistakes. I hope he will forgive me."

 

Halfway through the journey, Hakoda's crew made an emergency stop in a small Fire Nation port to buy medicine. One of the men had fallen sick, and Iroh warned that if it wasn't taken care of, it could pass to the rest of the crew. He had taken Zuko and Bato into the town for the quick run. It was there that Zuko heard the rumors spreading.

 

"My cousin lives in that village," a nearly toothless man was telling his companions in front of a tavern two doors down from the apothecary. "He says he actually _spoke_ to her. The Painted Lady is _real_!" Zuko slipped closer and pretended to study the menu board outside.

 

"Get out of here!" A heavy set man sucked his teeth. "After all this time, you really believe that the spirit's care about what we're suffering?"

 

"You can believe it or not," the first man said. "But I have it on good authority that the Painted Lady blew up the factory, cleaned up the water _and_ healed them that was ailing!" His assertion was met with disbelieving jeers, but Zuko was smiling to himself. It seemed there was no limit to Katara's  compassion, even when she was on enemy territory.

 

The messenger hawk found them about two days away from their rendezvous point. Hakoda laughed when he read the message.

 

"His name's Hawky," he informed Bato and Zuko. "Sokka picked him up a few weeks ago." Along with that information, Sokka had included the name of the village near the cove where they were camped and a crudely drawn map of the immediate coastline. After checking it against the maps on the ship, Zuko and Hakoda worked out that they would reach the cove by midday two days later.

 

Sure enough, as the sun reached its height, they saw the coast line come into view.  Sokka was on the beach, waving his arms wildly as the ships pulled in. Aang and Toph had waded into the water up to their waists and with some sharp movement, they raised a row of  stone docks for the ships to pull in to. Zuko raised the spyglass to his eye and scanned the group for the only truly familiar face among them. He found Katara standing a bit further up the beach watching the ships. One arm was wrapped around her middle and she chewed the pointer finger of her other hand worriedly. Zuko frowned at that and handed the spyglass back to Hakoda.

 

They crews docked within an hour, and Zuko hung back near his uncle as Hakoda went over to greet his children. Katara caught Zuko's eye, and he froze. What would be her reaction to seeing him there? He thought they parted on good terms, and she had made her father trust him, but how would she react to him traveling with her people? She smiled hesitantly before turning back to her father and motioning towards the tree line at the edge of the beach.

 

Zuko didn't get to speak to Katara or anyone in the Avatar's group until dinner that evening. The swamp benders were telling stories of their home in loud, boisterous details to the delight and laughter of their audience. Katara found Zuko hanging back from the crowd and fire. She had a bowl of stew in her hands, which she held out to Zuko.

 

"I didn't see you get any," she said. "It's going to run out soon."

 

"....thanks," Zuko mumbled.

 

"Sure." Katara cleared her throat. "I'm glad you and your uncle are okay." She reached up and tugged her hair nervously. When she looked up at Zuko, there was regret in her eyes.

 

"I wanted to come back for you," she told him quietly. Her voice was almost lost in a roar of laughter, but Zuko was certain he had heard her correctly.

 

"It's okay," he said quickly. "Honestly, we got out not long after you all did. We're fine."

 

"I know, it's just…" Katara threw a hand up. "You really saved us back there. Aang would have died if you and your uncle hadn't been there. And then I thought _you_ had… Well, anyway I guess I'm just trying to say thanks."

 

"Sure." Zuko hoped that the low light of dusk hid the flush he could feel on his face. He racked his brain for something half worthwhile to say. Fortunately, he was spared from saying anything by the arrival of the rest of Katara's friends.

 

" _Ahem_!" Sokka cleared his throat. While he wasn't actually glaring at Zuko, there was a distinct pointedness in the way he looked at Zuko. "Dad told me he picked up a couple of strays."

 

"Hi, Zuko!" Aang jumped in between the two older boys. "I'm real glad to see you. Thanks for saving my life back at Ba Sing Se! I totally owe you."

 

"Down, boy." Toph smirked and stepped closer to Zuko. "So Prince Sparky and Grandpa joining us, huh? I hope you're going to be less mopey now."

 

"Hey!" Sokka protested, pushing Aang and Toph out of the way. “ _I_ was talking to him.” He glared at his friends before turning back to Zuko. The prince cast a quick nervous glance around the fire before meeting Sokka’s eye. Then, as his father and countrymen had done all those weeks earlier, Sokka reached out and grasped his arm just below his elbow.

 

“Thanks for your help back at Ba Sing Se,” Sokka said. “And welcome aboard, I guess.” Zuko smiled tentatively at the group.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Come on,” Sokka motioned for Zuko to follow him, “I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

 

The first few hours off of the ship had gone so well that it had lured Zuko into a false sense of security. That was rectified after dinner by two events. The first was Aang’s announcement.

 

“What do you mean you can’t go into the Avatar State?” he demanded. “The whole plan depends on you using the Avatar State!”

 

“That’s exactly what _I_ said!” Sokka cried. Katara jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

 

“Sokka!"

 

"Well, it _is_." Sokka rubbed his abused ribs. "Are your elbows made of knives?"

 

"Can we get back to the problem?" Zuko cut in.

 

We've already got it half solved," Katara sighed. "Someone else has to take Ozai down.' Aang winced, and then stood up.

 

"No they don't," he declared. Katara balked.

 

"Aang, you don't have to-"

 

"Yes I do," he insisted. "I'll face Ozai." Katara looked across the fire at her father. She pleaded with him to say something, but Aang didn't give him the opportunity. "I'm the Avatar. I don't use that card often, but I'm doing it now."

 

"You know what you're doing, Aang?" Toph asked. Her eyebrow was arched. "Remember what going means?" Aang nodded.

 

"I know what you all expect me to do," he said. "I know what I have to do." Katara and Sokka exchanged glances, and then shrugged.

 

"Glad you came to your senses," Sokka mumbled. you’ve come to your senses,” Sokka muttered. Katara caught Aang’s eye and asked him wordlessly if he was sure. He was.

 

Aang had taken Toph’s advice and come up  with a plan. It was simple. He would go in and face the Fire Lord alone. He wouldn’t have much time, but if he did everything he was supposed to, he could get into the palace, bind Ozai and have him in prison before the eclipse was over. Eight minutes was enough time to do all of that, if everything went well. Aang looked around the campfire at all of the expectant, tired, and hopeful faces. He _would_ make sure everything went well.

 

“Then it's settled,” Hakoda said. “We should get some rest. We sail tomorrow at dawn.”

 

The second event that ruined Zuko’s first night, was Iroh’s announcement.

 

“What do you mean _you’re not coming with us?”_ Zuko demanded.

 

“The White Lotus wants to use the eclipse to liberate Omashu,” Iroh explained. He sat on his cot across from the one Zuko was assigned to sleep on. His nephew paced the small space between them.

 

“When was this decided?” Zuko demanded.

 

“We have been discussing it since Choi,” Iroh admitted. “But nothing was decided until this morning.”

 

“Two weeks?” Zuko yelped. “You’ve been talking about it for two weeks and you’re only _just now_ telling me about it? I thought you were done keeping things from me.”

 

“I am sorry, Zuko.” Iroh sighed and rubbed the ridge of his brows. “It was kept confidential. I _couldn’t_ tell you. I couldn’t tell _anyone_.”  Zuko bit his lips, not feeling at all better about the situation.

 

“We need you!” he insisted. “Have you seen our team? We’ll need everyone we can get. This is more important than Omashu. We can free Omashu once...once-”

 

“You do not need us.” Iroh stood and placed his hands on Zuko’s shoulders. The young man looked as if he would push Iroh off. In the end, though he submitted to the show of affection, but he refused to meet his uncle’s eyes.

 

“The war will not end with Ozai’s defeat on the Day of the Black Sun,” Iroh explained. “The Fire Nation has too much of a presence in the Earth Kingdom, and those in power will not give it up so easily.” Zuko huffed.

 

“Fine,” he said sharply. “Why do _you_ have to go with them? Why can’t it be someone else?”  

 

“I-” Iroh started. Then he let his hands fall from Zuko’s shoulders. “I am sorry, my nephew.”

 

And that was the end of the discussion. Iroh left the tent to meet with the rest of the White Lotus and the leaders of the other groups of warriors. By the time he came back, Zuko had either fallen asleep, or pretended to. His back was towards his uncle.

 

In the morning, Iroh and the White Lotus left before the rest of the camp began to stir. Their ship was already a spot on the horizon by the time the others woke, and it had disappeared completely by the time Sokka and Bato began passing out the breakfast rations of seal jerky and seaweed. Zuko disassembled their tent and hung back near the edge of the camp.

 

“I hope you don’t expect me to bring you your meals every time you decide you can’t be bothered to get it yourself.” Zuko looked up to find Katara standing beside him, holding out his breakfast. He accepted it with a mumbled thanks and shoved it into his pocket. He thought Katara would leave after that, but she stayed there, munching on her meal and watching the sun come up over the ocean.

  
“Something bothering you?” she asked after a long stretch of silence. “Or is it just nerves.” Zuko toyed with the idea of telling her to mind her own business, but he reasoned that having her on his side was better than not. He motioned out towards the water, where the ship could no longer be seen.

 

“My uncle was on that ship,” he told her. She nodded in understanding.

 

“Is this about that fight you two had last night?” Zuko turned towards her sharply and silently cursed the canvas walls of the tent. Katara held her free hand up defensively. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. But I can tell when people are arguing.”

 

“It’s fine,” Zuko sighed, feeling defeated. “I just can’t believe he’s leaving us when we need him.” Katara turned her gaze out over the water and frowned contemplatively.

 

“I thought the same thing the first time my dad left,” she confessed. “I was pissed, too.” Zuko turned in surprise. Katara- rational, compassionate and fierce Katara- could be angry at Hakoda?

“A- are you still?” he asked her. Katara gave a half shrug and shoved the rest of her meal into her pocket.

 

“It doesn’t matter today,” she said. “Today we have a war to win. We can sort out our issues later.” She turned to Zuko, one soldier to another, with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was right, Zuko realized. He didn’t have time to mope.

 

“Let’s go win a war,” he said.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

 

Aang stood on the bow of the ship, his hands clenched tightly around the staff of his glider. It kept them from shaking so visibly, but it did nothing for the thudding of his heart in his chest. Everyone must be able to hear it, he thought. The sound of it in his own ears blocked out the noise of activity around him, so it must be loud enough for everyone around him to hear. He glanced up at the sky. There was no sign of the moon yet, but Sokka had assured everyone that the eclipse would begin within the hour. That was less than an hour to dock, disembark, find the Fire Lord and neutralize him. Aang took as deep a breath as his lungs would allow and let it out slowly.

 

In less than an hour, it would be over.

 

“Aang.” He turned to see Katara hurrying over towards him.

 

“H-hey!” Aang said. He ran a hand over his head- now bald again- and tried to sound braver than he felt. Katara smiled sympathetically. Of _course_ she wasn’t fooled, Aang thought. She knew him better than anyone.

 

“Are you ready?” she asked him, as though she didn’t have her own challenging tasks ahead of her.  She would be leading the Swamp Benders in the first wave before the eclipse began to make a hole for the others to get Aang through.

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Aang muttered. Then he took another deep breath and squared his shoulders. He drew himself up to his full height and looked into Katara’s eyes. “There’s just one thing.”

 

“What?” Katara shifted on her feet and glanced over towards where the Swamp Benders were finishing with Appa’s armor.

 

“This might…” Aang swallowed hard and tried again. “This might not got well, and-”

 

“Aang, we’re going to be fine,” Katara said. She glanced back at her team then up at the sky. “It’s going to work, but we have to-”

 

“I-I know,”  Aang cut her off. “I just want to say this in case I don’t get the opportunity...or the nerve.” Katara’s brow furrowed in confusion.

 

“Aang, what-” Aang cut her off again, this time with a kiss. Or it was meant to be a kiss. He smashed his lips against hers almost painfully. Katara didn’t have any chance to react. By the time her mind caught up to what was happening, Aang had pulled away, snapped open his glider and was gone. Heat rushed into Katara’s cheeks, and she looked around to see if anyone had seen. She caught Due and Tho staring, but one frosty glance from her made them get back to their own task. There was no time, Katara remembered, to process this.  

 

“Let’s move out,” Katara ordered. She took her place at Appa’s reins and the others with her scrambled into the saddle. Hakoda jogged up to the side and gripped the rein tightly.

 

“Katara,” he said. She looked down at him expectantly. He cleared his throat and wrapped his other hand around hers. “Be careful.”

 

“You, too,” Katara replied. There would be time for _I love you_  and _I’m sorry_  when everyone was safe. With one last glance skyward, Katara flicked the reins and Appa leapt into the water. Katara and the swamp benders enclosed the beast in an air bubble, leaving only his legs and tail free so that he could swim towards the shore.

 

Sokka watched his sister leave from the stern of the ship. He would stay with his father, along with Toph and Zuko and the rest of the Water Tribe warriors to cover the first wave of the attack. Jeong Jeong’s men- the ones who hadn’t gone with him, would bring up the rear. They would be powerless for the duration of the eclipse, but they would move to the front once they had their bending back. It was a mad plan, but as Sokka had told everyone, it was just mad enough to work. They didn’t have numbers on their side, but they had surprise on their side. This would work. It had to.  

 

In the end, Sokka and Zuko wound up reaching the palace just after Aang and just as the eclipse began. Behind them, they could hear the sounds of battle and the hiss of water meeting flames. Against all odds, Katara and her team of swamp benders were holding their own against the palace guards. Things were going their way. With an almost feral grin, Sokka unsheathed the his black blade and charged into the palace. Zuko only a few steps behind with his dao swords in hand, was not smiling.

 

“There should be more guards,” he cautioned Sokka. “Something’s up.”

“Maybe they’re hiding,” Sokka suggested. His voice sounded less sure than he meant. Zuko only grunted in response, and looked around the empty hall suspiciously. He didn’t need to warn Sokka to keep his guard up.

 

The throne room was ahead. Zuko guided Sokka, though even the Water Tribe boy didn’t really need direction. There was a plush red carpet leading from the entrance of the palace through the wide, too quiet hall. It would have been intimidating, if Sokka had any attention to spare the darkened alcoves and blood red and black wall hangings.

 

“Where’s Aang,” he wondered out loud. A high, cackling laugh erupted from the throne room ahead before Zuko had a chance to speculate. The pair ran faster and found Aang standing before the throne, but instead of Ozai, Azula sat with one leg swung over the arm, looking as easy as if this were a social visit.

 

“I knew you were young,” Azula was taunting Aang, “but you look barely old enough to be off of your mother’s milk.” Zuko and Sokka skidded to a halt just inside, and scanned the corners of the room in confusion.

 

“Where's the Fire Lord?” Sokka demanded. Azula ignored him and sneered at her brother.

 

“I didn’t think you would have guts to show your face in the Fire Nation again, traitor,” she hissed at him.

 

“Where is Father?” he asked her. His voice was grim and cold, but inside he was all turmoil and nerves. He hoped that Azula couldn’t see the way he trembled as he gripped his dao swords.

 

“You have no _Father_ here,” Azula laughed humorlessly. “And the Fire Lord has no son.” Then Azula laughed again, taking in the others. “Did you all _really_ think we didn’t know about this invasion of yours?”

 

Sokka and Aang looked askance at Zuko who shook his head quickly. Azula found this funny, too.

 

“Oh, don’t worry,” she told them. “My traitor brother isn’t the one who turned on you.” Sokka’s eyes widened in realization.

 

“The Dai Li,” he whispered. “They _knew_ about the invasion.”

 

“It was a clever trick,” Azula admitted. “It may have even worked. But now you three have wasted all your time on me, and the eclipse will be over in- oh about three minutes. Then it’ll be _my_ turn to spring my little trap.”

 

“The others,” Zuko gasped. “She’s going to surround them!”

 

“We have to warn them!” Sokka turned and rushed back down the hall. Aang stood in the middle of the room turning around like a  lost child.

 

“But,” he stammered. He looked at Azula in a haze of incomprehension. Zuko grabbed his arm  and pulled him away.

 

“We have to warn the others,” he said. Aang resisted him for a moment.

 

“But the Fire Lord,” he insisted. Zuko shook his head.

 

“There’s no time to look for him,” he told Aang. “He’ll be in the safe room. It’s too far from here.”

 

“Run along, Avatar.” Azula waved her hand at them, and Aang finally let Zuko lead him away.

 

Zuko gripped Aang’s arm with bruising force. He could feel the warmth of his inner fire starting to flicker back to life. They didn’t have much time. They had to get to the others before the guards got their fire bending back, and then… Then Zuko had no idea, but if this was to be their last stand, he would go down fighting.

 

The tide of the fight had already begun to turn when Zuko and the others ran out of the palace. As the eclipse passed, more fire benders had emerged from hiding. They were slowly pushing the invasion force into a tight circle. Zuko saw it happening before any of the combatants, and Sokka saw it a split second later.

 

“It’s a trap!” Sokka cried to anyone close enough to hear them.

 

“We have to stop this!” Aang looked around the scene in horror.

 

“Sokka!” Bato had seen the trio and stumbled over. He was grievously wounded. Half of his body was  covered in burns, and he was bleeding from a wound in his side.

 

“What happened?” Sokka ran over and threw Bato’s arm over his shoulder. Zuko helped Sokka move Bato away from the battle to a spot somewhat hidden by flags and low bushes. Aang trailed them somewhat in a daze.

 

“There was an explosion,” Bato told them. “They were prepared.” Sokka nodded grimly.

 

“The Dai Li told Azula,” he explained. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold back tears. “I should have known…” Bato reached up with his least injured arm and grasped Sokka’s shoulder.

“We...we aren’t going to win this,” Bato said, straining against the pain. “You have to escape.” Sokka shook his head.

 

“I’ll find Katara,” he promised. “She can heal you.”

 

“No time,” Bato gasped. “Katara is taking the younger kids. The Freedom fighters. Go find Appa. Get away!”

 

“It’s the other youngins!” The three boys turned to see one of the swamp benders, Sokka didn’t recognize this one, running over. “You three have to git now!”

 

“Metiu! What’s going on?” Zuko asked. He left Sokka clinginging to Bato and went to meet the warrior.

 

“Tactical retreat,” Metiu told him. His face was streaked with soot, blood and tears. “Hakoda says we’re going to make a hole fer y’all to make a getaway. Says the most important thing now is to make sure that ‘un-” he jabbed his chin at Aang, “-lives through this.” Aang paled.

 

“He...he’s right,” Bato was struggling to speak now. Zuko recognized the signs of death. Bato wouldn’t survive the next hour. And he was probably luckier than most. Zuko pulled Sokka gently to his feet. Bato tried to smile at the boys reassuringly and Sokka tried to put on a brave face. It wasn’t convincing, but it was just enough. Metiu urged the boys to follow him.

 

Appa was under attack in the courtyard. Katara and the swamp benders were doing their best to douse the fires before they reached him, but Appa cried out in distress as flame blast after blast singed his fur. The youngest members of the invasion team were scrambling to get into the saddle, but it was difficult with everything going on around them. Sokka nodded to Zuko and raised his sword.

 

“Aang, go help them,” Sokka ordered, pointing to the kids trying to climb atop Appa. “Zuko and I will get them off of you.”

 

“But what about-” Aang started to protest. Zuko shoved him forward.

 

“We’ll be right behind you,” he swore. Aang nodded, pale and frightened but determined. He snapped open  his glider and flew over Appa. He took a deep breath and blew out the flames of the Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko and Sokka threw themselves into the fray, blades flying and slashing. Zuko parried the flames of the closets soldier, causing them to fall back in surprise.

 

“It’s Prince Zuko,” someone shouted.

 

“He’s turned traitor, someone else- a commander it sounded like- shouted. “You keep fighting!” But the air around the battle shifted. Suddenly, the flames didn’t seem as directed as they had moments earlier. Zuko thought it was probably confusion, but he used it to his advantage. Teo- the young boy in the wheelchair- and Toph were the last of the young fighters to get to Appa. Toph stomped the ground and a pillar of earth shot the two up to the saddle and Toph deposited them both into the saddle.

 

“Come on!” Katara shouted for Sokka and Zuko.

 

“Don’t let them escape, or it’ll be your heads!” the commander shouted. Whatever confusion had allowed Sokka and Zuko to fight the guard off dissipated in an instant. The soldiers redoubled their efforts on Appa. The swamp benders were being forced back, and Katara didn’t have enough water to keep them off.

 

“We have to let them go,” Sokka shouted. Zuko nodded. Then he pushed his way through the fighters to the one who had been shouting orders before.

 

“Prince Zuko!” he gasped, before his face hardened into a mask of rage. Zuko swung a fist into the man’s gut before shouting to the men around him.

 

“Did my uncle ever tell you _why_ they called him the Dragon of the West?” It had the desired effect of distracting the soldiers near Appa. He could see Sokka signaling for Katara to leave when she had the chance. Then Zuko opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of fire. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as when Iroh did it, but it was enough. Aang had taken the reins and flicked them with a command that was lost to Katara’s cries in the background.

 

“We _can’t_  leave them!” she was screaming. But it was too late. Appa was in the air before Katara had the chance to do anything else. Sokka rushed over to Zuko while the soldiers shot useless flames at Appa.

“Come _on!_ ” he said, dragging him away.

 

“Sokka! Zuko!” Hakoda managed to fell the soldier he was fighting. He yanked his spear from the dead man’s chest and rushed over. “You were supposed to leave with the others!”

 

“We couldn’t!” Sokka said. “There were too many soldiers.” Hakoda looked up at the sky helplessly. Everything had gone so wrong so quickly.

 

“Hakoda!” Now Jeong Jeong made his way over. “There’s an airship not far from here.” He turned t the boys. “We’ll hold them off, and you two get away from here.”

 

“We can stay and fight,” Zuko said. Jeong Jeong shook his head.

 

“You are just as important to the end of this war as the Avatar,” he said. “You get out of here.”

 

“He’s right,” Hakoda said.

 

“Then _I’ll_ stay!” Sokka drew himself up to full height and stuck his chest out. “I’m not afraid.” Hakoda shook his head.  
  
“The others will need you there. Go with Zuko. Protect your sister and Aang.” Sokka’s breath left him in a pained gasp. Hakoda pushed them away and drew his weapon.

 

“Let’s go,” Zuko said, pulling Sokka to the edge of the courtyard. There was a manhole overgrown with grass and ivy. Fortunately, it wasn’t rusted shut, and Zuko was able to open it with minimal struggle. He motioned for Sokka to get in and he clambered in after.

 

“Surrender and you will live to see a trial,” Zuko heard the commander order Hakoda and the remaining fighters. He shut the grate after him and then he led Sokka through the tunnel towards where Jeong Jeong said the airship was.

 

“What if someone’s down here?” Sokka whispered.

 

“Unlikely,” Zuko said. “My cousin showed me these tunnels years ago. They’re storm drains. I don’t know that many people know they’re even here.”

Zuko was grateful that his optimism was proven right for once. They made it to the port where the airship was without incident. All of the available fighters seemed to be occupied with the invaders, so it was also unguarded. And Sokka was surprisingly and thankfully adept at flying the ship, so Zuko didn’t have to do it all alone. A short while later they were airborne.

 

Sokka looked back at the site of the failed battle, and saw that the invaders- the ones who had survived and hadn’t managed to escape- had been gathered together. Their hands were up and their weapons thrown on the ground. At least the commander hadn’t seemed to be lying about taking them all prisoner.

 

They turned to the front of the ship. Appa was a dark fleck in the sky ahead of them, but Zuko thought they would catch up by the time they landed. Sokka grunted in response, then sat down by the furnace.

 

“How do I tell Katara about Bato?” he asked more to himself than anything. Zuko slid down the side of the ship’s wall until he was sitting beside Sokka.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said. There was nothing else he _could_ say. He shut his eyes and prayed to Agni for Water Tribe warrior who had been so kind to him. He didn’t know enough about Water Tribe customs to do anything else. Then he said a prayer for those who had been captured by his father.

 

“What’s going to happen to them?” Sokka asked. Zuko didn’t need him to say who.

 

“They’ll be taken to Boiling Rock to await trial,” Zuko told him. “It’s a prison on a small island in the south.” Sokka nodded grimly. Zuko added what reassurance he could. “It’ll be a while before anything happens. Maybe by then…”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“We’ll get them out,” Zuko promised. Sokka met his eyes determinedly.

 

“Yeah,” he swore. “We will.”

 

 


End file.
